Martins Sesks will contest next month’s World Rally Championship season finale in Saudi Arabia as part of an expanded four-car M-Sport-Ford operation that includes multiple Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah.
The rising WRC star joined M-Sport for a six-round WRC program this year after delivering a series of impressive performances behind the wheel of the team’s Ford Puma last season. The Latvian had hoped to add another round to his contract before the end of the campaign and now the trip has been made possible thanks to funding from the WRC promoter.
Sesks caused a stir in the WRC last year after finishing fifth on his Rally1 debut driving a non-hybrid-powered Puma, before battling for a podium in Latvia until a technical problem occurred on the final stage.
This season, Sesks has shown flashes of his speed finishing sixth in Sweden, followed by top eight finishes in Estonia and Finland. The 26-year-old also won Rally Poland, which hosted a round of the European Rally Championship.
“I am very grateful for the support and encouragement we have received from our sponsors and fans,” Sesks said.
“We all believed that round seven would take place and now we head to Jeddah to make the most of all that the WRC season has to offer.
“With no opportunity for pre-event testing, we will have to adapt to the conditions and take advantage of the knowledge we gain from the shakedown. I also believe that the participation of Nasser Al-Attiyah and his experience at these venues is a real asset for the M-Sport team.”
Martins Sesks, Renars Francis, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1
Photo by: M-Sport
M-Sport-Ford team principal Richard Millener added: “Martiņs has impressed us this season with his pace, maturity and approach to learning to drive the Rally1 car.
“His results in Sweden, Estonia and Finland show that he has real potential on loose surface events, and Rally Saudi Arabia will be another opportunity for him to demonstrate this, especially as it is a new event for everyone. We are delighted to have him back in the Puma for the end of the season.”
Sesks will look to learn from the experienced three-time Rally-Raid World Champion and four-time Dakar Rally winner Al-Attiyah, who recently confirmed he will return to the WRC driving a Ford Puma for the first time at the Saudi Arabia Rally.
Al-Attiyah and Sesks will join full-time M-Sport drivers Gregoire Munster and Josh McErlean.
“I don’t think Nasser is going to win the rally, but having a lot of experience gives our young people good knowledge, which will help them and they will be able to have a different reference,” Millener said.
“The guy is like Sebastien Loeb in terms of his talent in the Middle East and I can only see that as a positive. You have to remember that he has never driven the car and won’t have a test, but he is a driver who will just get in the car and drive it.”
“There are a lot of challenges, but he is a good addition to the team and can be beneficial.”
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